Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes? I hope we are.

"H, did you know George Jones died today?  That makes me sad," I said.
    "Wendy, he was 81," was his dry reply.

I get he was older and had lived a very full life but his passing still saddens me.  I was pregnant with E when Johnny Cash passed away.  I was very hormonal and took the news very hard.  I remember watching his tribute on TV.  There I sat with my expanding belly, nauseous from the hormones pinging around in my body, bawling my eyes out while watching footage of Johnny singing all his greats.   That night I ate a tupperware bowl of Capt'n Crunch cereal, four HEB brand chicken egg rolls an a pint of chocolate cream ice cream.  By the end of the tribute there was not a tear left but I was so satisfied I slept like a baby.  Don't judge, the baby wanted all those things.

I cried not because of some psycho connection with Mr. Cash but for what it meant for me personally which was that another link to my grandparents was gone.    I also cried because of the hormones but that was secondary I assure you.  I imagined my unborn baby girl being 14 and trying to convince her to listen because "Johnny Cash really IS good, I promise" and her huff away never giving him a chance.

Yesterday when I heard George Jones had passed I did not cry (so maybe it was the hormones) but I did pause to reflect.   I thought, "they laid a wreath upon his door" and grinned I was that clever ( until I read FaceBook and several of my friends had put that as their status).  I listened to his music most of yesterday and realized country music for the most part these days does stink.

HERE COMES THE RANT: There is no soul in country music today only commercial hits and easy one liners that get into your head.  There are punks that wear boots but hang hoops from their ears, ink up their skin, wear God awful clothing and don't seem to have enough respect to wear a suit to awards shows.  Is it really that hard to even get a "good" pair of jeans starched?

I will miss George Jones being in this world.   He was a link to a different time and a connection to people I love and have also "left this world too soon".   He sang, "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" and I am still asking that question only his shoes are now included next to my grandfather's boots. 

I learned to dance standing on PaPa's black, pointy toed boots as we shuffled around the Live Oak County Coliseum.  Classic country played by the Al Dean Band filled the space and I could not stop smiling.  Good memories.

Today I looked at pictures of Boone with my dad on his John Deere tractor.  Boone's smile has no end and I have hope that my generation and my parent's generation is stepping up to the plate.  Thank God for family.  Rest in Peace, Mr. Jones.  Thanks for the memories.